After testifying before Congress Monday afternoon, former FBI director James Comey said Donald Trump and Fox News were to blame for damaging the FBI’s reputation, not him.
When Fox News’s Catherine Herridge asked Comey if he had anything to do with the FBI’s plummeting reputation, the former FBI director said “no.”
“The FBI’s reputation has taken a big hit, because the president of the United States, with his acolytes, has lied about it constantly,” he said. “And in the face of those lies, a whole lot of good people who watch your network believe that nonsense. That’s a tragedy. That will be undone eventually, but that damage has nothing to do with me.”
Comey on Damage Done to the FBI’s Reputation: ‘That Damage Has Nothing To Do with Me’ pic.twitter.com/82QsE8ZNVL
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) December 17, 2018
He also decried Republican congressmen whose constituents watch Fox News, saying their coverage of his actions are to blame for the FBI’s downward trajectory in the minds of Americans.
James @Comey" "Republicans used to understand that the actions of a president matter, the words of a president matter, the rule of law matters and the truth matters. Where are those Republicans today?" pic.twitter.com/uQEAkUcI3Q
— CSPAN (@cspan) December 17, 2018
“At some point someone has to stand up and in the face of fear of Fox News, fear of their base, fear of mean tweets stand up for the values of this country and not slink away into retirement.”
As Grabien’s Tom Elliot pointed out, Comey has been implicated in at least 36 scandals throughout his career, which included his tenure as head of the FBI. Comey was questioned Monday about his handling of the investigations into Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton before the House judiciary and oversight committees.